Fashion Week Calls

Last weekend Jen, Jaye and Abbie were invited down to London Fashion Week to assist two of the biggest names in session hair styling. Here is a review of their experience - The Low Down on Fashion Week from behind the scenes - enjoy!

Friday 17th February

Head Stylist: Adam Reed

Central Saint Martins MA Graduates Show - BFC

Jen and Jaye went to assist Adam Reed at the British Fashion Council Show Space, 180 The Strand. This was to be a busy afternoon - there were a mix of male and female models, 47 in total. The girls were two of 17 stylists assisting, alongside 20 make-up artists. So, backstage was buzzing!

The Brief

Adam Reed set the brief as a 70's vibe - thinking, well-to-do traveller rather than beach-bum

Adam first did a demo so all the stylists were clear on the look he was after. He used L'Oreal Professionnel Wild Stylers TechniArt Range: Beach Waves, Depolish and Scruff Me........ all of which are available to buy at Linton and Mac

The technique

Hair was both diffuse dried and scrunched or loosly tonged letting the natural textures in the hair do their own thing. This was the ultimate in the un-done-done look. Models would be walking a number of looks each, at one of the most cutting edge shows at London Fashion Week - so whilst hair had to look un-fussy and almost neutral, it also had to be extremely modern and edgy.

The girls had three models each and had only about 15 minutes with each model. Adam then came and checked every style to make sure it was in keeping with the brief.

the show

MA Fashion at Saint Martins has an international profile, second to none. And is the only course to show at London Fashion Week. This year, 16 students were invited to present their work. This stage has the potential to catapult emerging talents into international notoriety.

The girls were then invited to stay Front Row, for the rehearsal walk-through.

Pre-show, every single model, was again checked by head stylist Adam Reed - before press photos and the finale.

the designers

Stephan Cooke, Gabriele Skucas, Joshua Walters, Robert Sanders and Markus Wernitznig are just some of the names to watch out for.

Saturday 18th February

Head Stylist: Daniel Fiorio

sid neigum - alex eagle studio, soho

The whole vibe for the early morning show, was completely different to Friday at BFC. This was to be a collection presentation in a gallery shop show space. Jen and Abbie were two of only four stylists working with French born, Canadian stylist Daniel Fiorio for fellow Canadian Sid Neigum's reveal of his Autumn/Winter 2017 collection.

The girls had 2 hours to prep 15 models alongside 5 make-up artist, with an early 7am starting - the show starting at 9am.

the brief

Daniel wanted hair to look "expensive" and effortlessly chic. Most models had long straight hair, so the look was a loose, smooth, highly glossed low slung pony - tied using the models own hair and one bobby pin only.

The Technique

Hair was smoothed and brushed, with the steam-pod being used on some models to tame fly-aways and any frizz. Both L'Oreal TechniArt Liss Control and Sleek & Swing were used to assist this process. Hair was loosely pulled to the nape of the neck and pinned with one clip. The style was finished with plenty of L'Oreal Infinium spray to hold in place whilst having the shine remain.

The Show

Sid Neigum's A/W '17 collection was based on patterns crafted after the golden ratio - or divine proportion. Burnished gold velvet, draped and wrapped shapes to cocoon silhouettes - where on the other hand, navy material with a heavy pleat gave the feeling of armour and self-protection. These two opposite feels, made for a visually impressive show.

The models stood for two hours whilst press and buyers watched, analysed and admired this stunning contribution to fashion week.

Take Away

trends

Diffusing will be big news in hair styling this year. The beach-wave is being replaced with the un-done-done, hair texturising look achieved with the right products and heat diffusing attachments for your drier.

In fashion, as well as hair, the un-gender trend continues to be big news. Male and female models blended, with the look being androgynous and gender-less. Colours and shapes were bold, enhancing this statement.

Learning

All three of the Linton and Mac team, representing at London Fashion Week 2017 were absolutely blown away by the whole experience. It wasn't at all as scary as they anticipated it to be!

Full on schedules and tight time scales were taken in their stride - helping build their confidence for future events.

The compliments and encouragement we received were unreal, we were absolutely buzzing! Fingers crossed for 2018